• Neapolitan-6 Chord and Tritone Substitution

    From Matt Faunce@21:1/5 to All on Sat Aug 14 20:57:36 2021
    Compare and contrast the Neapolitan-6 chord and the tritone substitution.

    I came to think of the N6 as a iv (minor four-chord) with a sharped 5th
    tone in root position. So, in my way of thinking of it, the N6 in the key
    of C major is spelled (bass to treble) F Ab C#.

    I think of the tritone substitution as a V7 chord with a flat 5, flat 9,
    and an implied (or dropped) root. So, in the key of C major you have Db F
    Ab B.

    --
    Matt

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  • From Matt Faunce@21:1/5 to All on Fri Oct 22 02:55:28 2021
    The Neapolitan-6 chord can precede the tonic chord. In these cases, instead
    of the Neapolitan-6 chord I usually prefer to play a minor chord whose root
    is the minor seventh above the tonic tone, e.g., in the key of C major,
    I’ll play the Bb minor chord then the C major chord. This preserves most of the feel that I want from the Neapolitan chord but because it has one tone moving contrary to the others it’s richer than the Neapolitan chord.

    However, I prefer the Neapolitan-6 chord when going to the dominant chord, because this has contrary motion unlike the vii chord, on the “flat seventh” scale degree, to the V chord.

    Here’s a chart.

    Richer:

    A Neapolitan-6 chord to the V chord *has* contrary motion, e.g., Db major
    to G major.

    A vii chord, on the “flat seventh” scale degree, to a I chord *has* contrary motion, e.g., Bb major to C major.

    Blander:

    A Neapolitan-6 chord to the I chord *does not have* contrary motion , e.g.,
    Db major to C major.

    A vii chord, on the “flat seventh” scale degree, to the V chord *does not have* contrary motion, e.g., Bb major to G major.

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